Moving On
by forkandspoon
Summary: ONE-SHOT Since the tragic night at the church with Chaos, Tatsuma hasn't shown himself. So Kyoichi decides it's time to help him get over his lose and remind him that he is not alone. Cute story with implied KyoXTatsu.


**Moving On**

**This one-shot takes place between Tatsuma's encounter with Chaos in the church and the one after that, when he is taking him around town.** **Enjoy! :)**

**EDIT: **

**To Emeraude: you obviously did not read what I wrote above the story. I am not planning anything. This was a ****one shot**** and I clearly stated that this took place between Tatsuma's encounter with Chaos in the church and the one after that. Maybe you haven't seen the second series, but there is a slight time gape between both episodes. I simply wrote this as a fill in. It is what I thought might have gone down, thus, I don't have any plans to continue it. And yes, Kyoichi's hair may be more brown than red, but I find that it is a mix between the two. Besides, is it really all that big a deal?**

Grey clouds covered the morning sky, a light snow drifting down from them, as Kyoichi walked into school that day. He did not stop at his locker or change his shoes, just continued up the staircase until he got to the second floor corridor. Then he opened the sliding door leading to his classroom and stared at the faces of his classmates as though he was looking for someone.

'He's not here,' a voice said from behind Kyoichi. It was Aoi. They stared at each other for a moment, the same emotion reflected in their eyes.

Worry.

Finally, Kyoichi looked away and sighed.

'What is Tatsuma thinking?' he asked, running a hand through his hair in frustration. It'd been nearly two weeks since they'd seen him. Kyoichi knew he was the one who had suggested they give Tatsuma some space after the whole ordeal with his parents and Chaos, but he had never expected him to been gone for this long… The whole thing made him uneasy.

'He'll be back soon, I know it,' Aoi said in a way that seemed more like she was trying to convince herself instead of actually believing in her own words. Kyoichi shook his head and leaned his wooden sword against his shoulder. They could keep saying that to make themselves feel better, but it wasn't going to solve anything.

'…I think he needs a push,' he said quietly as the bell rang for class to begin. The students that had been lingering in the hallways rushed to their respective classrooms and Aoi went to do the same but stopped abruptly.

'Kyoichi,' she said, turning back to face the red-headed boy who made no move to follow her, 'Aren't you coming?' A grin slowly spread across his face as he said, 'Sorry, seems like I've got an errand to run.' He then began walking back the way he had come.

'Kyoichi?' Aoi asked again, looking a little lost. He merely waved a hand in her direction.

'Do me a favor, princess. Tell Maria I'm going to be a little late.'

'Damn it's cold,' Kyoichi muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he walked along the snow-strewn sidewalk. It was in times like these that Kyoichi was thankful that Tatsuma's apartment wasn't that far from the school. He turned up the next corner and walked into a small complex, before walking up the short flight of stairs that led to his friend's living quarters. He gave the door a quick rap and waited. Silence answered him. He knocked again and when he was met with silence for the second time Kyoichi said, 'Tatsuma, it's me! Open up!'

After nearly a minute of complete silence Kyoichi cursed, grabbed hold of his wooden sword, and lifted it over his head. If Tatsuma was going to be like that, well, he wouldn't have a front door for much longer.

'Tatsuma, open the damn door before I-' Kyoichi stopped mid-way through his threat. The door had been opened a ways and through the small opening stood Tatsuma. He didn't meet Kyoichi's eyes, which made the other boy frown.

'Can I come in?' he asked, sheathing his sword. Tatsuma hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open and stepping aside. Kyoichi followed him inside the apartment and closed the door behind him. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room. All the windows were covered with blinds, allowing only slithers of sunshine into the room.

Once his eyes had adjusted, he saw that Tatsuma now stood across from him. His hands were in his pockets as he stared fixedly at his bare feet. They stood in an awkward silence for a long moment. Now that he was here, Kyoichi felt tongue-tied. He wasn't sure what he should say to his friend. Eventually he cleared his throat and said lamely,

'Come back to school.'

'Is that really what you came here to tell me?' Tatsuma asked. Kyoichi could hear the incredulity in his voice as he spoke. He sighed. So Tatsuma wasn't in any better shape than he'd been a week ago.

'Tatsuma, you've got to stop acting like this,' Kyoichi said firmly. The other boy kicked at the ground with his foot.

'Acting like what?' he asked. Kyoichi took a step towards him.

'You've got to stop blaming yourself for your parents' death, you've got to stop acting like you're so damn guilty,' he said, 'What happened that day wasn't your fault.' Tatsuma raised his head at this and met Kyoichi's gaze squarely. His eyes were alight with anger and sadness, which made Kyoichi shiver. Until a week ago, those emotions had never been present in his friend's clear blue eyes.

'It _is _my fault,' Tatsuma said, his voice rising with every word, 'I was supposed to meet them at the station. If I'd left school early, if I hadn't been late they'd-' His voice broke and he looked away. His hands were clenched together tightly, his knuckles white.

Kyoichi raked a hand through his hair in frustration.

'I thought giving you some time alone would help you sort things out. I thought it might help you get over what happened but, hell, I guess I was wrong,' he said, 'You've just been wallowing in despair this whole week, haven't you?'

The words were barely out of his mouth when Tatsuma tackled him. Kyoichi gasped as the air was knocked out of him and he hit the floor. Tatsuma sat atop him, his hands shaking as they roughly yanked up the cuff of Kyoichi's shirt. The air around him shimmered a bright, golden yellow.

'How could you expect me to move on?' he cried angrily, 'Ever since I saw their bodies I feel like my hearts being ripped apart, one cell at a time! I keep wondering what they thought about in their last moments alive. Did they blame me for their deaths; did they hate me for not being there to save them? I'm just so scared that they'll…never forgive me for what happened that night.'

Kyoichi felt something wet splash on his face and realized with a start that it was tears. Tatsuma was crying, his hands now holding onto Kyoichi's shirt for support instead of in anger as they had been but a minute ago. The rage had left him now and all that seemed left was a broken mess of a person. Kyoichi sat up as best he could with Tatsuma sitting atop him and cupped the boys face firmly in his hands.

'Tatsuma, look at me and listen,' he said firmly, 'what happened _was not your fault_! It was Chaos who did it, and he's the one who deserves to be punished. He's the one who should be wrought with guilt, _not you_.' His eyes softened as he continued,

'And you're parents would never blame you, you idiot. I didn't know them too well, but from the very moment I met them did I know one thing for certain – they loved you with their very being. They would never blame you for what happened. So don't direct all that anger and frustration at yourself. Direct it at the person who deserves it, Chaos. And don't think you're in this alone. Princess, the others, and me, we're on your side and we're not going anywhere. We'll get through this together, not matter how long it takes.'

Tatsuma stared at him and Kyoichi could see the anger leave his eyes. The pain was still there, and would probably be there for a long time to come, but Kyoichi could tell that some of the weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Tatsuma lifted his hands to Kyoichi's, which were still grasping his face, and closed his eyes just as tears started to roll down his cheeks once again.

'Thank you,' he whispered.

They stood atop a small, grassy hill overlooking a field lined with gravestones. Tatsuma and Kyoichi descended the slope and walked through rows upon rows of them, all marked with names of those that had mostly been forgotten. Eventually, Tatsuma stopped, looked around, and then headed for one in particular. Flowers, a few days old from the looks of them, sat atop a fine granite gravestone with the names of his parents freshly engraved in the pale gray stone.

'Hello, mother, father,' he said, smiling sadly as he gazed down at their weather beaten portraits, 'I brought a friend along this time.' He placed a fresh bouquet of flowers on the grave and stood back. Kyoichi watched him uneasily. Ever since they'd talked Tatsuma had started coming back to school and seemed rather subdued, which worried Kyoichi. He knew that Tatsuma was far from over what had happened and that the power that had awakened inside of him since the deaths of his parents was fighting to resurface once again. Yet the boy seemed so…calm. Kyoichi did see a flash of something in Tatsuma's eyes sometimes, something powerful lurking just beneath the surface of his stare and he knew that Tatsuma was planning something. He just didn't know what.

As they walked towards the entrance of the cemetery, Kyoichi glanced over at Tatsuma and asked,

'What are you going to do now?'

'I'm going to meet Chaos,' Tatsuma answered lightly, as though he were merely going to visit and old friend.

'And you're going to kick his sorry ass all the way to hell, right?' Kyoichi asked.

'No,' Tatsuma answered, surprising Kyoichi so badly that he froze where he stood, 'I was thinking of taking him for a walk.' Kyoichi stared disbelievingly at his friend. What the hell was Tatsuma thinking?

'You aren't, _can't, _be serious?' Kyoichi breathed.

'I am,' Tatsuma replied lightly and started walking again. Kyoichi grabbed hold of his arm, making him look back questioningly.

"Kyoichi?'

'Just what are you planning? Can you at least tell me that?' the brown haired boy asked, his eyes searching. When Tatsuma said nothing he let go of his arm roughly.

'Fine. Do what you want,' Kyoichi said grimly, walking away, 'But you'd better not try anything stupid or there'll be hell to pay.' If Tatsuma didn't want to tell him what he was planning, fine. But Kyoichi would be sure to be there every step of the way, saving Tatsuma from himself if he had to.

**Well, that's it. R&R if you'd like! I always appreciate comments and constructive criticism!**


End file.
